Insulated Athletic Undergarment With Segmentally Arranged Supplemental Insulation for Cold Weather Protection

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to articles of insulated apparel and more particularly, to an insulated undergarment comprised of a body and appendages continuously and integrally formed of insulated, resilient fabric material and having segmentally arranged supplemental insulation for insulating less mobile regions of a user's body.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Numerous activities are performed during the cold winter season. Availability of specialized apparel to be worn while participating in certain of these activities is somewhat limited. Some measures have been taken to protect participants of certain activities from the cold ambient environment. One such measure includes controlling the environment in which the activity is being performed, for instance, enclosing a stadium to form a "dome" for insulating participants, such as football players, from the cold ambient environment. However, domes are very costly and time consuming to construct and therefore, fail to provide an instant solution to an immediate problem. Focusing on a solution to independently protect each participant from the cold certainly provides a more economical short term solution. Moreover, such a form of protection would be useful in activities, such as hunting and fishing, where providing an enclosure is impractical.

It is not uncommon for participants of winter activities performed in a cold ambient environment to wear several layers of clothing. Unfortunately, the layering of clothing is typically continuous over the more movable regions of the user's body, such as the shoulders, elbows, and wrists, greatly restricting the ability of the user to move freely. A single insulated undergarment having segmentally arranged supplemental insulation for insulating less mobile regions of a user's body economically protects each participant independently from other participants regardless of the environment in which the activity is performed.

Garments for protecting certain regions of a user's body are known. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,135,961, issued Jun. 9, 1964 to Marshall E. Roderick, discloses a shirt-like garment having a singular pad to protect the wearer's chest or abdomen. Another protective article of clothing is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,042, issued Mar. 23, 1976 to Alfred D. Lobo, which discloses a protective garment for skaters, and the like, comprising a fabric layer upon which a plurality of foamed plastic cylinders may be removably fixed. A cover is provided over the cylinders so that the garment has a conventional appearance when worn. U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,801, issued Apr. 2, 1985 to Frank J. Kavanagh et al., shows yet another protective garment having a plurality of pockets for receiving pads formed to fit the wearer. The pads protect the wearer's spine, shoulders, and ribs. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,706, issued Oct. 3, 1989 to Kenneth E. Ketcham et al., describes a shirt-like protective garment having air inflatable pads positioned in fabric compartments located adjacent the wearer's spine, shoulders, and ribs. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,108, issued Apr. 16, 1991 to Raymond Laberge et al., provides a chest protector having a plurality of overlapping padding sections capable of covering the entire arm. The wearer's torso is also shielded with protective padding in this formidable appearing piece of clothing.

The aforementioned patents disclose protective garments which are generally bulky and reduce the freedom of mobility of the user. Further, the protective garments disclosed provide protection against trauma. Unlike the aforementioned prior art, applicant's instant invention is a undergarment which protects the user from the cold ambient environment and which provides supplemental protection against the cold ambient environment for less mobile regions of the user's body.

None of the above patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.

The present invention relates to articles of insulated apparel comprising a body and appendages continuously and integrally formed of an insulated, resilient fabric material. Segmentally arranged supplemental insulation for insulating less mobile regions of the user's body, such as the user's upper and lower, arm, leg, and torso regions, is supported by the insulated, resilient fabric material. The segmentally arranged supplemental insulation is discontinuous over the more movable regions of the user's body, such as the shoulder, elbow, and wrist regions, thus permitting the user to move these regions with greater freedom. Further, the segmentally arranged supplemental insulation is discontinuous over regions of the user's body which may be protected by protective gear, such as shoulder pads, so as not to interfere with the fit of the protective gear. The insulated, resilient fabric material insulates the mobile regions as well as the less mobile regions of the user's body against the cold ambient environment. The segmentally arranged supplemental insulation provides insulation against the cold ambient environment in addition to the insulated, resilient fabric material. Alternatively, a highly resilient, lightweight, fabric is employed in substitution of the insulated, resilient fabric material in areas of the garment which are associated with the more mobile regions of the user's body, such as the shoulder and elbow regions, thereby providing even greater mobility. Yet as another alternative, the entire undergarment may be covered with a nylon material to give it a wind breaking capability and thus, reduce the risk of wind chill.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an article of insulated apparel which comprises a body and appendages continuously and integrally formed of an insulated, resilient fabric material which supports segmentally arranged supplemental insulation for insulating less mobile regions of the user's body.

Another object is to provide discontinuity in the segmentally arranged insulation over the more mobile regions of the user's body, thus permitting the user to move these regions more freely and over the regions of the user's body which encounter protective gear.

Yet another object is to incorporate highly resilient, lightweight, fabric into areas of the garment which are associated with the more mobile regions the user's body thereby providing even greater mobility.

Another object is to cover the entire undergarment with a nylon material to give it a wind breaking capability.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

FIG. 1 is an environmental perspective view of an insulated article of insulated apparel according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of an alternative embodiment of the article of insulated apparel showing overlapping portions of the upper and lower arms in phantom lines.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross sectional view of a sleeve of the article of insulated apparel shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross sectional view of the midriff region of the article of insulated apparel shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of yet another alternative embodiment of the article of insulated apparel having highly elastic shoulder and elbow regions.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

The present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, is an article of insulated apparel 10a worn by a user 100, such as the sports figure shown. This article of insulated apparel 10a is worn predominantly covered by an outer layer of clothing, such as the jersey 102 worn by the user 100. The article of insulated apparel 10a is in the form of a long sleeve shirt-like article comprising appendages, such as the sleeves 12 shown, which are substantially continuous with a body 14.

Referring the alternative embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 through 4, the sleeves 12 and body 14 are fabricated of a resilient, thermally insulated, first ply of fabric material 16 which is comfortable to the user 100 and porous to permit moisture to escape therethrough, thereby keeping the user's body dry, and resistant to the cold ambient environment. The material 16 may be natural, such as wool or cotton, or synthetic, such as nylon or polyester, or a combination thereof. One such fabric which is suitable for fabricating the body and sleeves is Synchilla fabric manufactured by Pentagonia of Ventura, Calif. Another suitable fabric is Polartec Series 100 fabric manufactured by Malden Mills Industries, Incorporated of Lawrence, Mass. This machine washable fabric has a 100% fiber content. The face of this fabric is surface finished as a low-pill, low velour pile to provide comfort for the user 100. These fabrics have extremely fast wicking/siphoning abilities to keep the user 100 feeling dry under active conditions and its anti-microbial prevents bacterial growth to help keep this fabric looking and smelling fresh. Alternatively, Malden Mills Industries, Incorporated offers Polartec Series 200 and 300 fabric which progress in fabric thickness and weight and thus, offer greater insulation to the user 100 form the cold ambient environment. It should be noted that though Polartec Series 100 is a suitable fabric for the first ply of fabric material 16, similar fabrics may be employed.

Unlike the first two embodiments, FIG. 5 shows yet another alternative embodiment of the insulated article of apparel 10c having elbow regions 22b and shoulder regions 18b which are formed of a single ply of fabric material which is highly elastic and which has a nominal thickness of as to offer little to no restriction of the movement of the user's elbows and shoulders. Lycra Spandex manufactured by E. I. DuPont De Nemours and Company of Wilmington, Del. is an example of a fabric which could accommodate these regions 18b, 22b.

Areas or regions of each of the articles of apparel 10a, 10b, 10c associated with less mobile regions of the user's body, namely: the upper arm regions 20, each extending from a point below a respective shoulder region 18a, 18b to a point above a point above a respective elbow region 22a, 22b; the lower arm region 24 extending from a point below a respective elbow 22a, 22b region to a point above a respective wrist region 26; and the midriff region 30 extending from a point below the chest region 22, include segmentally arranged supplemental insulation I, such as a pile, a batting, a down fill, a polyester fill, a fiberfill, or some other known material which provides supplemental protection for the user 100 against the cold ambient environment. The supplemental insulation I should be lightweight, thin, and flexible. One such insulating fiber for use as the segmentally arranged supplemental insulation is Micro-loft down-like insulation manufactured by E. I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company of Wilmington, Del. Micro-loft is produced under a process combining microdenier fibers to render a comfortable down-like insulation which keeps the user 100 warmer than conventional down insulation. Micro-loft blocks radiant heat loss, while greatly reducing convective heat loss.

Preferably, the segmentally arranged supplemental insulation I may be loosely arranged between the first ply of fabric material 16 and a second ply of fabric material 26, fixedly attached to the first ply of fabric material 16, such as by the stitching 34 shown, so as to form a closed pouch 36, as is shown in FIG. 4. Alternatively, the first ply of fabric material 16 and a second ply of fabric material 26 may be stitched so as to form a pocket 38 having a closure 40, as is shown more particularly in FIGS. 2 and 3. Similar to the first ply of fabric material 16, the second ply of fabric material 32 may be also be of a natural fabric, a synthetic fabric, or a combination thereof. Alternatively, the second ply of fabric material 32 may be a wind resistant material, such as Supplex Microsupplex also manufactured by E. I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company of Wilmington, Del.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, the segmentally arranged supplemental insulation I is discontinuous in the vicinity of the elbow region 22a, 22b and shoulder region 18 to permit the user 100 to move freely both the his or her elbows and the shoulders. Moreover, the segmentally arranged supplemental insulation is discontinuous over regions of the user's body which are be protected by protective gear, such as shoulder pads, so as not to interfere with the fit of the protective gear. In addition to the segmentally arranged supplemental insulation I, the articles of apparel 10a, 10b, 10c include a neck band, such as the turtle neck 42 shown, and wrist bands 44 to prevent the user 100 form being exposed to the cold ambient environment about the neck and the wrist, thus further insuring that the user 100 remains warm. The turtle neck 36 and the wrist bands 36 are each fabricated of a material which is highly absorbent and highly elastic, such as Lycra Spandex. Such a fabric is capable of absorbing the user's body moisture and maintaining a close tolerance to the user's neck and wrist.

The articles of apparel 10a, 10b, 10c insulate the entire upper torso of the user 100 and include the segmentally arranged supplemental insulation I limited to the less mobile regions or areas of the user's body, thus enable the user 100 to move more freely than would multiple layers of clothing or even a single garment which and an integral insulation material or padding which was continuous over the entire garment.

In each of the embodiments shown in the figures, the segmentally arranged insulation material is excluded from the chest region 28 and upper back region 46 opposite the chest region 28 so as not to interfere with protective equipment, such as conventional shoulder pads (not shown) used by the football player shown in FIG. 1, worn over the article of apparel 10a, 10b, 10c and under the jersey 102. It should be noted that any portion of the garment may be covered with a nylon material to give it a wind breaking capability and thus, reduce the risk of wind chill. Preferably, the garment 10a, 10b, 10c includes an outer shell which is water-resistant yet breathable. The outer shell may be color coordinated to match team colors. Alternatively, the garment 10a, 10b, 10c may be coated with a water-resistant coating, such as H.sub.2 NO manufactured by Pentagonia of Ventura, Calif.

It is also to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.